Tagged: Minnesota Twins

Prior to this game, Twins’ Outfielder, Denard Span, said this on Twitter:

“See if we can avoid a sweep tonight. Man I can’t stand the yanks!”

I guess the days of using your mind before you use your mouth are long gone. This Twitter update got to me, not because it was about the Yankees, but because it shows classlessness, and more importantly, stupidity.

Normally, I wouldn’t care enough to discuss such a matter. As a Yankees fan, I suffer from a superiority complex. I think that we’re better than to bother ourselves with something so petty. Our team’s success speaks for itself, and we really have no need for such stupidity coming out of our clubhouse.

Span’s comment, however, is just a part of what seems to be a trend. After hearing Curt Schilling and Jonathan Papelbon shoot their mouths off over the years, Jimmy Rollins talk trash without backing it up with performance, and Dallas Braden make a big deal about something stupid, I felt the need to address the issue. I’m using this comment from Span to talk about something that affects players all over the league.

I scrolled through Span’s previous tweets. I didn’t have the time (nor the interest) to go too far back in his timeline, but I saw his messages from days when the Twins were facing other teams. The only team he spoke negatively about was the Yankees.

Is this a classic example of an inferiority complex? Is he angry that the Yankees regularly dominate the Twins? Is he angry that the Yankees probably won’t be interested in signing him? I’m not sure what his reasoning was behind such a statement. My guess is that he lacked any.

In today’s world, free agency plays a big role in the make-up of teams, and the lives of players. It has become a rarity to see a player retire wearing the same uniform in which he debuted, and spent his entire career wearing. It is in the best interest of the players, as well as the
teams, to take advantage of free agency.

In a world in which free agents tend to go to the highest bidder, it doesn’t make sense for any player to publicly show negative feelings towards any team. It is especially illogical for a player to show ill-natured thoughts towards the team that usually pays the highest salaries. No one knows where Span will end up playing, not even Span himself. He is still at the beginning of what could be a long career. Why would a young player choose to speak ill of another team that may, one day, be interested in signing him?

Side note: I doubt that the Yankees will ever sign Denard Span, but nothing is impossible.

What was Denard Span thinking when he wrote such a Tweet? My guess is that he simply wasn’t.

Even if we take away the element of free agency, and assume that Span plans to stay with the Twins for the rest of his career, there’s a little thing I expect from players on a Major League level. That thing is called “class”.

Derek Jeter has been a Yankee his entire career. Everyone knows that he will continue being a Yankee until the day he retires. Even after retirement, it is unfathomable that Jeter will ever be associated with any Major League team other than the New York Yankees. Even with all of this, knowing that he will never don a uniform other than a Yankee uniform, Jeter has never spoken negatively of another team.

Have we ever heard Derek Jeter say “Man, I hate the Red Sox”? Has he ever said anything negative about a team? No, he hasn’t. Jeter respects other teams and their players, and he is therefore respected by all. He is hated by many opposing fans because of his success, but he is respected because of his respect for the game. Any player who wants to be respected by his peers should follow Derek’s example, and treat others with respect.

Comparing Denard Span to Derek Jeter seems to be unfair. Derek Jeter is a seasoned veteran, whereas Span is still a young player at the beginning of his career. Every player, however, should aim to become like Derek Jeter. I’m not talking about talent or success. I’m talking about attitude and class. Every young player should aim to be respected by his peers throughout his career. Making comments like “I hate that team” doesn’t earn you any respect.

Some people said to me “If Derek Jeter made a similar comment about the Red Sox, you would love it”. No, I really wouldn’t. I would be more upset about any Yankee making such a comment about any team, especially if that Yankee is Jeter.

If Jeter made a comment like that, I’d be one of the first fans telling him to shut his mouth and let his bat and glove do the talking on the field. Derek Jeter would tell Derek Jeter to shut his mouth if he made such a statement. I’m very Jeterian when it comes to how I expect players to deal with other teams. As a fan, I constantly show my hatred of the Boston Red Sox, but I would never accept our players doing the same. I’m watching the games from the stands, or on TV, I’m not on the field. There’s a major difference between what is considered acceptable behavior for a fan, and what is acceptable for a player.

Side note: I didn’t enjoy certain statements George Steinbrenner made about other teams, either. Steinbrenner, however, is an owner, not a player. While I still find ill-natured remarks unacceptable, he’s his own boss.

This is a trap which I find many players falling into. Several players buy into the hype of “rivalry” and “animosity” created by the fans, and start thinking that it is acceptable for them to behave similarly. As Yankees fans, we’ve especially seen this from some members of the Red Sox organization. While I accept and respect hatred of other teams coming from fans, I can never accept and respect hatred coming from opposing players.

Professional athletes, in general, need to be aware of their impact on the image of their respective teams and organizations. It is not enough to play well, and master your athletic skills. Athletes need to have an understanding of the world of Public Relations. If they don’t, then they should know to shut up, and ask their agents and representatives about what is and isn’t acceptable. I’m sure that Span’s agent isn’t happy about such a statement from his client.

Being a professional baseball player is no different from being an employee of any company. When you’re at work, you’re expected to carry yourself in a manner befitting the corporate image of your employers. When I’m at work, I can’t respond to an employee or client with any negative statement. I can’t make a public statement showing hatred for our competitors. This will harm the image of my organization.

The difference between me, an average employee in the business world, and a professional athlete, is that I can say whatever I want when I’m not at work. No one cares about any statement I make when I’m representing myself, in my free time. Professional athletes don’t have this luxury. From the moment they first put on their team’s jersey until the end of their days in that uniform, they are representing their team all day, every day. This is much more difficult than the ten hours or so in which I represent my company every day, but then again my company doesn’t pay me millions of dollars a year for my services.

I’m not going to dive into other sports leagues, because different sports require different levels of self-control. One example I heard was boxing. You can’t compare boxing to baseball. Boxers face each other one-on-one, represent themselves and not an organization, and they’re meant to literally beat each other up. When Boxer X speaks in an ill-natured manner of Boxer Y, it is acceptable. It’s a part of the game, because he is representing himself, facing an opponent who is also representing himself. He is expected to go into a ring and pummel his opponent. He can say whatever he wants before the match.

In baseball, you play 162 regular season games, and you not only represent yourself, more importantly you represent your team. If I were an official in the Minnesota Twins organization, I would be annoyed by Denard Span’s comment on Twitter. Twitter has become a leading media outlet, and public figures must carry themselves while tweeting, in the same manner in which they carry themselves in interviews or press conferences.

As a Yankees’ fan, I would be angry if Nick Swisher or Joba Chamberlain (both frequent Twitter users) made a comment like that about any team. They would not only make themselves look bad, they’d make my team look bad. That, to me, is unacceptable.

Furthermore, players never know what team th
ey will be representing in the future. Why would you want to hinder your career over a stupid remark? I mentioned Schilling, Papelbon and Rollins earlier. The main difference between those three players, and players like Braden and Span, is that the former three have established themselves in their careers. They have the success to back up their classless remarks. Dallas Braden and Denard Span are still starting out. They need to learn how to control what they say, otherwise they’ll end up being the players that no team wants.

They may have the skills, but teams look for more than mere talent. Teams want players who will make them look good as well as help them win, especially the teams who have the financial means to be picky. If Denard Span and Dallas Braden dream of ever playing for the creme de la creme of baseball, they need to start behaving with class.

At the end of the day, as a professional athlete, your actions on the field speak louder than your words off it. Shooting your mouth off doesn’t make anyone fear you, it makes everyone ridicule you and your team. As a baseball player, if you truly hate a team, and you want to see them fail, shut your mouth and put your bat and glove up. Show them Hell on the field, but keep your mouth shut up off it.

Is it me, or did AJ Burnett seem to pitch better in the rain? He had a little bit of a shaky time during a couple of innings, but he managed to get himself out of trouble, and shut the Twins out through five innings. This was a good start from AJ Burnett, even though the rain cut it short. Had the game continued, he could have probably pitched into the seventh inning, since he finished the fifth with 75 pitches.

What was particularly funny was seeing the Twins’ crew reacting to rain. They had been playing in a dome for nearly three decades, so this was the first time in a long time that they had to brave the elements during a baseball game. They obviously weren’t used to it. One official even said (I’m paraphrasing here): “Since we haven’t had experience with this sort of thing, we went by the official rules set by Major League Baseball. This is all very new to us, but we made the decisions in accordance with official rules.”

It was cute to see such uncertainty when it came to rain delays or game suspensions. We’re used to it, and rain is a regular thing for us to suffer through in the first couple of months of the season. It was also nice to see that we were a part of history: This was the first rain-out in the new ballpark.

I think the rain during this game woke up Twins’ fans, and made them realize that it’s important to check the weather forecasts before baseball games. That is something they hadn’t done for almost 30 years.

Anyway, the game is suspended until tomorrow. The game will be picked up from the sixth inning, and everything will be exactly the same as it was left off. AJ Burnett needs the Yankees to score in the first inning of the resumed game (which will be the top of the sixth) to put him in line for his first win since facing the Baltimore Orioles earlier this month.

Picking up where we left off the night before, the game started in the top of the sixth inning. Duensing was on the mound for the Minnesota Twins, trying to hold onto the shutout that Scott Baker began the night before. After striking out Kevin Russo on three pitches, Duensing seemed to be on a roll. Then, Captain Clutch stepped up to the plate.

Derek Jeter blasted a solo home run off of the Twin’s lefty, putting the Yankees on the board and taking the lead. AJ Burnett needed the Yankees to score in the first inning of the resumed game (which was the top of the sixth) to put him in line for a win. Who other than our Captain would have his teammate’s back like that? Indeed, Jeter’s home run put Burnett en-route to his first win since facing the Orioles earlier this month.

No one thought that the 1-0 score would hold up, not with the Twins’ lineup, so we were hoping that our bats would at least pad this lead to secure a win for us, and a win for AJ.

They didn’t do that, but the result was still sweet for the team, and for AJ. It would have been a shame to see Burnett’s efforts the night before go to waste.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, David Robertson was on the mound to preserve the lead, and keep us on track for the win. The first batter he faced was Joe Mauer, who is never pleasant to face. Mauer hit a rocket right onto Dave Robertson’s derriere, and we all cringed at the sight and sound of it. Yes, the sound. We heard that ball pop off of D-Rob’s backside. The ball bounced off the butt (hello, alliteration) of Robertson, and right into Alex Rodriguez’s glove. Joe Mauer was out.

For a split-second, we all panicked. With the string of injuries that the Yankees had been suffering from recently, the first thought on my mind upon seeing Robertson get hit was “Oh no. Not another one. Please stop hurting our players!”

There was a visit to the mound to check on Robertson to see if he was alright. Robertson was okay, and a huge sigh of relief spread amongst the Yankee Faithful. Thank God he’s okay. The last thing we need is another player injured, especially a bullpen pitcher.

In the same inning Derek Jeter gave us some of that Jeterian Magic. He made a Vintage Jeter jump-throw to end the inning and save the day. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen Jeter’s jump-throw over the years, but I’m still in awe every time I see it. It was as beautiful as it has always been.

So, in one inning, Derek Jeter hit the game-winning home run, and made an amazing defensive play to preserve it. Concurrently, Captain Clutch told all of his haters to collectively suck it.

David Robertson went on to get two more outs, before Joba Chamberlain relieved him. Chamberlain then continued to pitch, and had a beautiful eighth inning. He handed the ball over to God who, of course, got the save.

None of us thought that a 1-0 lead would hold up, but it did. Our three pitchers deserve the highest of praise for their efforts in this game. We can’t always blow-out the opposition by scoring a dozen runs. We need to be able to win these one-run games if we want glory. That’s what we did last season, and hopefully we’ll be continuing to do so this season.

Yes, I’m aware that I’m writing this from Dubai, but it still feels good to see our Bombers back in the Bronx. I almost forgot that we even wore pinstripes, because it feels like it’s been so long since our team has been home.

It feels even better to see a Yankees win. Today was my parents’ 33rd wedding anniversary, and they were at the game to celebrate. I’m so happy that the Yankees won for them on their day.

AJ Burnett wasn’t great, but he got the job done. He didn’t get the win, but he kept us within an arm’s reach of winning. His final line wasn’t so bad, but if you watched the game you would have seen that his pitching was off. Anyway, he pitched well enough to get the win, but he didn’t get it, thanks to the antics of one Damaso Marte.

Marte was awful, as he has been for a while now. He was great in the postseason last year, but was injured for most of the regular season. Even before the injury, he was awful during the season.

On the one hand, I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, a pitcher who performed so well in the playoffs, and played a vital role in the team winning the World Series, has to be good, right? Well, I’m not so sure. His numbers in the past have been good, but Marte is old. He may have lost his skills. It’s too early in the season to completely rule him out, but I’m definitely not impressed with what I’ve seen from him thus far.

Boone Logan as our go-to lefty, anyone? He lacks command sometimes, but he’s been one of our better bullpen arms lately. Let’s wait and see. He seems to be working hard on himself, so from now until the All Star break, we’ll have a clearer view of what this guy can do.

Our bats seemed to be awake and ready for action. They had the lead, before Marte gave it up, but there were several missed opportunities throughout the game. Our 2-5 hitters carried us this game. Derek Jeter got a hit, but he still seems to be struggling out there. I’m not reading much into it, he’ll snap out of it soon.

The hero of the night was Alex Rodriguez, with his GRAND SLAM.

In the seventh inning, the Twins made a mistake that was even worse than Girardi putting Damaso Marte on the mound. Matt Guerrier was pitching, and struggling. With two of our boys already on base, and first base open, the Twins decided to intentionally walk Mark Teixeira to take their chances on Alex Rodriguez. I suppose I can try to understand Ron Gardenhire’s logic behind this decision. Alex Rodriguez hasn’t been hitting many home runs so far, while Mark Teixeira has been hotter than hot since the beginning of May.

So, logically, you’d rather face Rodriguez than Teixeira, right?

WRONG.

Rookie mistake.

We’re talking about Alex Rodriguez, here. On a slow night he’ll drive in a couple of runs. In a slumping season he’ll hit 30 home runs. This is a man who can break out of his (relative) slump at any moment, and when he does, it’s going to hurt. Let’s not forget to mention that A-Rod pretty much owns Guerrier. Before this home run, Rodriguez was batting .718 against the Twins pitcher, with a handful of home runs in the past. I’m not a manager, but even I knew that this choice was a stupid one. When they intentionally walked Teixeira, I said “A-Rod’s going to make them pay for this”. I believe I even said it on Twitter.

Well, I was right. Gardenhire was wrong. Alex made them pay.

I could be wrong, but Alex Rodriguez strikes me as the type that doesn’t appreciate insults. I’m pretty sure that the intentional walk to Teixeira was insulting to A-Rod. Hell, I’d be insulted if I were him! Alex Rodriguez isn’t Randy Winn, you don’t choose to face him. Well, apparently Rodriguez doesn’t respond to insults well.

Sure enough, Alex Rodriguez hit a monster Grand Slam, that won the game for the Yankees. Not only did this teach Ron Gardenhire a lesson, but it also sent a message to the rest of baseball: Slump, or no slump, Alex Rodriguez should never be the batter you choose to face.

The following inning, Joba Chamberlain came in to pitch perfectly. He came into the eighth inning, and struck out the three hitters he faced. While, technically, the win was Damaso Marte’s (since A-Rod’s home run came in the bottom of the seventh), the Official Scorer decided to give Joba the win.

Many people were asking (but not really complaining) about why Chamberlain got the win. Well, it’s all written in the MLB Rulebook. The specific rule that applies to this situation is rule 10.17(c):

“10.17(c) : The official scorer shall not credit a
s the winning pitcher a relief pitcher who is ineffective in a brief appearance, when at least one succeeding relief pitcher pitches effectively in helping his team maintain its lead. In such a case, the official scorer shall credit as the winning pitcher the succeeding relief pitcher who was most effective, in the judgment of the official scorer.

Rule 10.17(c) Comment: The official scorer generally should, but is not required to, consider the appearance of a relief pitcher to be ineffective and brief if such relief pitcher pitches less than one inning and allows two or more earned runs to score (even if such runs are charged to a previous pitcher).”

So, Joba Chamberlain got the win.

Mariano Rivera closed the game, even though it wasn’t a save situation. Who’s complaining about this? No one is. It’s been a while since we’ve seen God pitch, so it was wonderful to see him back on the mound. I don’t even need to say how it went. When God enters the game, you know he gets the job done. Praise be to the best closer of all time. Amen.

All in all, another great game from our boys. It was great to see them back home and wearing the beautiful pinstripes. The Bombers are back to BOMBING in the Bronx. It was nice to see them play the small-ball well, but now they’re back to slugging. This is what makes the Yankees lineup so great, when healthy. There are no weak spots. Once Curtis Granderson is back, the 2010 starting lineup might just be the second-coming of Murderers Row.